Tablets have no future? But the future is already here Mr. Heins...

I am still not a
convert to tablets. I tried out the iPad and found it to be no more than the
most expensive Twitter client I have ever used. I tested Android alternatives
and still found myself doing no more than watching a bit of iPlayer in bed - oh
and tweeting about it.

But this is all
personal choice and, whether I like them or not, I cannot ignore how these
slates have been sweeping across the nation.

You can't get on a
tube carriage, a train or a plane without seeing a number of these devices and
whilst the iPad may have been the first to take off, I have recognised a raft
of Kindles, Googles and even the odd HP tab whenever I leave the house.

Yet, the buzz today in
the mobile space has been the head of BlackBerry denying tablets had a future. In
an interview with Bloomberg, Thorsten Heins predicted the form factor would be
dead in five years, saying they "are not a good business model."

Of course, a lot of
people have leapt onto the fact BlackBerry's own attempt at a tablet, the
PlayBook, bombed dramatically, despite being a quite shiny piece of kit. Perhaps
he just meant it wasn't a good business model for his firm to pursue,
especially with all the competition out there.

But senior people
within BlackBerry have continued to hint at me about a BlackBerry 10-based
tablet hitting the shelves in the not so distant future, so surely that can't be
right?

Maybe Heins meant for
the general enterprise customer, tablets are not the best fit. With this, I mostly
agree. I still much prefer working on a laptop with a full keyboard, especially
for long periods of time as the majority of stands are flimsy and not good
enough to rest on your lap when trying to be productive on the move.

But, then again, there
are some particular verticals, like healthcare or retail for example, where
they fit perfectly, perform well and really help cut costs, so he can't want to
miss that area of the market too?

As I said then, the
best way for HP to offer phones is aimed at the enterprise and as part of a
full package of hardware and software a firm that big has the ability to bring
to the table.

With BlackBerry, this is
the only way it could make a success of tablets too. Some of the nifty enterprise
features of the new BB10 operating system would work wonderfully on a slate
device and with the added security and comfort a BlackBerry brings to big
business, I still think they could get some market share there.

But, the window to do
this is growing smaller and now it seems the CEO himself isn't even backing it.
If Heins really wants out of the tablet business and to stick to those QWERTY
keyboards he has been touting this week with the Q10, I fear he has missed a
trick.

And maybe tablets
might not have a future in your head for the business world Mr. Heins, but take
on ride on the Northern Line and tell me the future isn't already here with
tablets taking a significant seat at the table.